Restaurant director banned for six years for employing illegal workers

The director of a Taunton restaurant has been disqualified for six years for employing two illegal workers.

Home Office Immigration Enforcement Officers discovered that Rothna Kalam was employing two people not eligible to work in the UK at Indian restaurant Pink Garlic on 27 February 2015.

Pink Garlic Limited was fined £30,000 but went into liquidation on 18 May 2016, with its fine unpaid and a further £15,194 owed to creditors.

Kalam has since given an undertaking that she will not directly or indirectly be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for six years from 16 December 2016.

Commenting on the disqualification, Sue Macleod, chief investigator at The Insolvency Service, said: "Illegal workers are not protected under employment law, and as well as cheating legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities these employers defraud the tax payer and undercut honest competitors.

"The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, makes employers responsible for preventing illegal workers in the UK. To comply with the law, a company must check and be able to prove documents have been checked prior to recruitment that show a person is entitled to work.

"The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences and this should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to take on illegal staff."